Majority of people favour regulation of will-writing

The public have given an overwhelming vote of confidence to the will-writing service offered by solicitors.

A new survey, commissioned by the Law Society, found that almost 90 per cent of people who had visited a law firm to put their affairs in order had been satisfied by the process.

The recent poll of more than 1,500 adults, which was conducted by YouGov, also found that a majority of people (55 per cent) believed that will-writing should be regulated.

This follows concerns about the quality of many of the documents that have been drafted by a growing number of unregulated individuals.

People who are not qualified lawyers do have the right to offer services including will writing – providing the case is not contentious.

But this situation has led to fears that people could end up with wills that are confusing or, worse still, legally unsound. In addition, those who receive poor service don’t have the opportunity to seek redress through the professional bodies responsible for regulating solicitors.

Jonathan Smithers, president of the Law Society, welcomed the news that people could see the benefits of introducing tighter controls over who can and cannot draft wills.

“It is encouraging to see that the public are beginning to recognise the importance of using a solicitor over an unregulated will writer,” he said.